You are here

Academic Requirements

Cornell University offers graduate students a lot of flexibility, freedom, and independence in their academic programs. With few exceptions (generally limited to certain professional degree programs), there are minimal requirements for either total credit hours or required courses.

Instead, you will take an active role in defining your degree program under the guidance of a faculty committee, called your Special Committee. You may choose your committee members from more than 1,800 faculty members in nearly 100 fields of study.

Such flexibility ensures that you can take advantage of the breadth of resources available at Cornell to meet your academic goals.